Place your bets!
by dude932
Summary: A bet can change a lot of things, what happens when Natsu becomes Mirajane's protege when they were kids because of a bet with Erza? Mass chaos? The end of Fiore as we know it? The strongest duo team Fairy Tail's ever seen? Who knows, but knowing the members of Fairy Tail, it's going to be expensive...
1. Chapter 1

Natsu Dragneel, eleven years old, was pouting as he sat on the ground of the guild hall, being scolded by the thirteen year old self proclaimed knight. He had been apart of Fairy Tail for a little over a year now and he hated one thing about it. Erza's rules. There were rules for everything! Living with Igneel did not prepare him for half the stuff that Erza barked at him for doing or in some cases not doing, peeing outside was against the rules, talking with your mouth full, against the rules, punching the ice princess directly in the face when he insulted Igneel, defiantly against the rules.

"Do you understand Natsu?" Erza asked, placing her hands on her hips glaring down at him, however Natsu was still young and didn't understand the concept of the red heads anger just quite yet...

"Sure why don't you just make a rule about fun! You don't let anyone have any!" Natsu shouted at her only to get a boot to the side of the head sending him down to the floor.

"You can have fun without breaking the rules Natsu!" Erza barked at him.

"Hey pinky, how about you quit team Erza and come join us!" Mira laughed from where she was laying on the table, the young goth grinning at the both of them Erza glaring right back at her. "I mean hell, if it wasn't for the red head, you'd be kinda cute." She smirked at him.

"Hey! I am cute!" Natsu shouted at her.

"Of course you are Natsu." Lisanna smiled from where she was sitting at the table which Mira was lying on, the sleeping baby Happy in her arms. Natsu grinning sheepishly at her before Erza filled his vision once more making him scowl at the red head.

"You're going to have to have some sought of punishment for this Natsu." Erza told him.

"What about Gray! He started it!" Natsu cried out in anger.

"He's got enough to deal with." Erza told him looking over her shoulder to see the unconscious Gray being poked at by Cana who was crouched down beside the unconscious ice wizard. "Now, you're coming with me." Laughing could be heard from Mira as Erza gripped Natsu by the back of his long sleeved red shirt and began to drag him away making him cry out for help.

"Mira, do something." Lisanna said to her older sister who was holding her sides in laughter. "Mira!" Lisanna cried. "Natsu didn't do anything wrong!" She told her making Mira sigh as she sat up and glanced down at Lisanna before nodding at her younger sister request.

"Oi! Tin can!" Mira shouted out, the halting of Erza's step made a grin form on Mira's face. "How about we make a deal?" She questioned jumping from the table landing on the wooden floor of the guild, placing her hand on her hip and leaning forward slightly. "I know you got a thing for gambling, so how about a little wager, hmm?"

"I don't have time for your games Mirajane." Erza told her, not having let go of Natsu who was struggling to run away from Erza, however was only running on the spot Erza gripping him by the collar as he tried to run away.

"Oh come on Erza, it'll be _fun._" Mira mocked. "Unless Natsu's right and you're just against fun all together."

"Haha! I know I was right!?" Natsu laughed before Erza pulled him back by the scarf making him fly off his feet and land on his butt once again making him whine and rub his butt.

"You shut up." Erza growled making Natsu gulp nervously as he continued to sit on the floor. "Mira, I said no."

"Haha, you don't even know how to have fun do you!?" Mira laughed. "All business all the time, when you're older you'll be exactly the same, nobody will want to be your friend." She pouted at her making Erza's glare harden.

"Fine! What is it!" Erza snapped at the white haired teen.

"One full day." Mira started raising a finger up. "You can't get up anyone in the guild, they can do whatever they want, fight, bitch at one another, burn down the guild hall to their cute little hearts are content." She smiled at Natsu. "You do that for one day, you can go back to all your snobbish ways." She said turning back to Erza.

"Watch it!" Erza growled making Mira raise her hands up in defence. "And if I can't do it?" She questioned.

"Natsu becomes my little protege and you can't touch him again if he does something wrong, it will be my job to deal with him." Mira smirked, Natsu's and Erza's eyes widened in shock.

"AHHHH!" Natsu cried in fear as he tried to run again but Erza hadn't let go of his scarf.

"Deal." Erza smirked.

"We begin tomorrow, now Natsu how about we go and plan something dastardly fun for tomorrow huh?" Mira suggested with an all to sweet smile.

"Mira..." Lisanna spoke softly as she walked up to her older sister. "When I said do something, I didn't mean this." Mira simply smiled down at Lisanna.

"Don't you want Natsu in our team from now on Lisanna? I mean, as long as you don't mind me annoying your cute little boyfriend." She teased her sister making the younger Strauss puff up her cheeks that had turned a gentle shade of red.

"You'll never take me alive!" Natsu cried out. "You'll just hold me back from finding Igneel!"

"Shut up." Mira sighed as she walked up to Erza and Natsu before pulling the pink haired dragon slayer up onto his feet and dusting his shoulders off before patting him on the cheek a bit to rough for a comforting motion. "Let's go find a job we can do together, hmm?" She questioned.

"Never!" Natsu shouted before running out of Mira's grip and straight for the job board, reaching up he grabbed the first job he could and ran out the guild hall, all the while Mira chasing him. Erza sighed and ran a hand down her face before turning to see Makarov chuckling beside her, a mug of beer in his hands.

"This will be interesting." Makarov smiled. "That job, I just happened to catch a glimpse of it on Natsu's way out."

"What job was it?" Lisanna questioned walking up to them.

"Just wait until they get back, I'm sure they'll tell you all about it." Makarov laughed as he glanced to see the two silhouettes running for the train station. _"__This may change things around here." _Makarov thought before turning to Erza who had a smirk on her face. "I'll be keeping an eye on you tomorrow Erza, to make sure you follow your end of the deal." Makarov told her making her smirk drop slightly. "Good luck."

Three Days Later-

Three days later the guild doors opened and there stood Natsu and Mira, grins on both of their faces. Lisanna was the first to notice that the two were standing oddly close to one another, or more so that Mira was being to close to 'her' Natsu. Rushing over to them Natsu grinned at seeing her as he folded his hands behind his head.

"Hey Lisanna!" Natsu greeted.

"Hey Natsu, Mira. How was your mission?" The younger Strauss questioned.

"Awesome!" Both Mira and Natsu laughed.

"T-That's good." Lisanna said nervously, she'd never seen Natsu and Mira this happy when around one another before, Mira was always teasing Natsu or trying to make him cry.

"Ah, I see you two made it back." Makarov said with a wide smile. "How did it go?"

"That was the most epic mission I've ever been on old man." Mira grinned. "Got any more like it?"

"Not at the moment Mira." Makarov told her. "So you completed the job?"

"Totally Gramps!" Natsu grinned. "We kicked so much butt!"

"We're a pretty good team, huh Natsu?" Natsu simply grinned up at the teen who smiled back at him.

"Well, you two will be working together from now on Mira." Makarov said making Mira turn to him. "Erza failed your little bet. Natsu's now your very own little protege." He told her making Mira's smile turn into a face splitting grin before she gripped Natsu's head and slammed his face into her budding teenage breasts. Lisanna's eyes widened before she puffed up her cheeks in annoyance as she watched her sister hug Natsu.

"So how'd fire crotch stuff it up?" Mira questioned still holding Natsu to her chest.

"Gray made her snap, he knocked over her plate of strawberry cheesecake and she just spiralled down hill from there." Makarov shrugged. "She turned the guild hall upside down almost, finding Gray and telling everyone off for such bad behaviour. You won Mira." Makarov told her.

"Awesome! I get to spend all day with the cutie now!" She cheered. "And I didn't even have to bribe Gray to stuff up." She mused allowed making Makarov raise an amused eyebrow. "I mean, such a shame on Erza's part. Where is fire crotch anyway?" She questioned looking over the guild.

"On a job."

"Ha! Couldn't face her defeat face to face? What a loser." Mira smirked. "Come on Natsu, let's get training!"

"Alright! Training!" Natsu laughed, his face still half buried in Mira's chest.

"What training?" Makarov questioned.

"Oh, since I'm having Natsu as a protege now, I figured it'd be awesome to make him an S-Class wizard soon enough." Makarov's jaw drop, Mira had only made S-class a little over two months ago and now she was expecting to make Natsu and S-class wizard before long? How long had she been planning this? "Oh, do you know when Guildarts will be back?"

"A couple of months." Makarov mused. "Why?"

"Oh, just wandering." She smiled before leaving with Natsu, Lisanna stood next to Makarov who watched Mira and Natsu leave.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Makarov said.

"Me too." Lisanna pouted. "Mira is acting weird and I don't like how she's with Natsu."

"It's fine Lisanna." Makarov told her. "You'll understand more when you grow up a bit." Lisanna pouted that he old man making him laugh. "Love sure is a complicated matter ain't it?" She nodded her head.

Three Months Later-

"Gildarts!" Makarov laughed as the large man walked into the guild hall dumping his bag off at the entrance, everyone in the guild coming to see the Crash Wizard, he caused the entire city of Magnolia to split every time he came home but it was worth it to see the strongest wizard of Fairy Tail.

"Makarov, good to see you again! Boy do I have some stories to tell you!" Gildarts laughed.

"Later my boy!" Makarov grinned wanting to know all the perverted details of the man's adventures, they were always worth hearing. He glanced around the guild and saw everyone greeting Gildarts with smiles and laughs from them all. However there were two missing, Makarov knew the tense training that Mira was giving Natsu wasn't gentle. She put Erza's teachings to shame. Makarov often wondered if Natsu would break under the strain of the training but from what he had seen the two worked well together, maybe the best youngest duo team in the entire guild. They completed jobs efficiently and sure the damage was a pain to pay for but their strength was undeniable.

"Where's the fire breathing twerp?" Gildarts questioned looking around. "I have expected to have been attacked by him already today." He laughed as he sat next to Makarov ordering himself a beer.

"He's actually training, Mirajane has been training him, said she's going to test him against you when you got back." Makarov explained making Gildarts laugh heartedly.

"So how'd Erza let go of the pink haired brat anyway? I thought she was looking after him and Gray. I always thought the little knight had a thing for the dragon boy." Gildarts laughed making Makarov chuckle at the younger man's assumptions.

"She was, but Mirajane set up a bet to which she'd get to deal with Natsu, ended up winning and has been training Natsu ever since." Makarov told him. "They've actually become a really good team."

"What about Lisanna, didn't Natsu and Lisanna have a fling or something a few years back? They were getting married last I recall."

"It was last year and they were ten, it was a cute thing nothing major." Makarov told her. "Mirajane kind of stomped on that in these last few months but Lisanna has begun to think it was for the best. Not sure how things will end up when they grow up though." Makarov mused. "Lisanna couldn't hate either Mira or Natsu. She loves them too much." Gildarts nodded in understanding as he leant back against the bar and looked over the guild.

"It's good to be back." Gildarts smiled.

"How long you staying?" Makarov questioned.

"A few days or so, got to get back out there. You know me, never one to stay in a spot for too long. Might take one of the bigger quests." Makarov nodded in understanding. The two chatted for a while before the guild doors opened once more.

"Here we go." Makarov chuckled seeing Mirajane standing with a grin on her face, Natsu standing next to her hands folded behind his head and even bigger grin on his own face.

"Heya twerps." Gildarts greeted the two as they approached the bar. "I heard you've been training."

"Damn straight!" Mira grinned. "How about it old man, want to go up against us?"

"Us? The two of you?" Makarov questioned. "I thought you wanted Natsu an S-Class wizard and was going to test him against Gildarts?" He told Mira.

"Yeah, well plans change. Me and Natsu can take Gildarts no problem." She grinned. "Right Natsu!?"

"Yeah!" Natsu laughed. "Let's go old man!"

"Alright, I'll fight the two of you." Gildarts said shocking the guild hall into silence, Gildarts never said he'd fight anyone they usually just attacked him and got sent flying through a wall. Mira's grin widened as she heard Gildarts proclamation. "Shall we take this outside? Makarov's told me you've both been training yourself for this."

"Sure!" Natsu grinned gripping Mirajane by the hand and running out of the guild hall.

"They seem to be getting along well." Gildarts chuckled.

"More so then most their age." Makarov laughed as he rose from his bar stool and walked with Gildarts towards the Guild's entrance. "To be honest, I think Erza's more jealous then Lisanna." Gildarts was roaring in laughter as they left the hall, most of Fairy Tail following them outside. Everyone spread out as Gildarts walked out the back of Fairy Tail where there was a large area for fights to be settled, Natsu and Mira standing opposite him ready to fight.

"How about we make this more interesting, since I hear you're so fond of bets Mirajane." Gildarts laughed.

"Not as much as Erza." Mira grinned as she placed a hand on Natsu's head and ruffled his hair up slightly. "I won this little cutie after all."

"Cough-cheated-Cough." Erza coughed into her hand.

"You just couldn't hack it Erza!" Mira laughed causing the red head to glare at her. "Plus, Natsu likes me better."

"Doubtful." Erza mocked. "Why would he like you more then me."

"Maybe because I'm better looking?" She questioned. "Don't force him to do things?" Erza's eye began to twitch. "Train him to fight?" Erza gritted her teeth. "The list goes on Erza, I would continue just to piss you off but I have more important things to do."

"That's it!" Erza roared, re-equipping a sword. "You're going down!" Everyone was surprised when Gildarts stepped in and gripped her sword before it shattered in his hand.

"Oh, sorry Erza, didn't mean to break it." He chuckled sheepishly, his magic as uncontrollable and destructive as always. "I want to fight these two at their strongest, having Mira fight you would only draw Mira's strength from the fight."

"Fine. But after I get to kick her ass!" Erza glared at Mira from around Gildarts.

"Good enough for me." Erza huffed, glancing down at the dust her sword had turned into she looked up at Gildarts.

"You owe me a new sword." She told him with another huff, crossing her arms in annoyance as she glared at him.

"Fine, fine, no problems." He chuckled waving it off like it was nothing before walking back to where he had been standing before. "Now about this bet."

"Hang on a second Gildarts." Mirajane said. "To be honest, neither Natsu or I could defeat you, even working together. That's a fact." Gildarts nodded in understanding, wandering where the young teen was getting at. "So, for us to win our bet how about a handicap?" Gildarts turned to Makarov who chuckled and nodded.

"Seems fair." Gildarts nodded. "Alright then." Walking over to a tree he snapped a branch off before walking back and drew a circle in the dirt to which he stepped into, throwing the stick away. "If you can get me out of this circle, you win." He smiled. "That good enough for a handicap?" He questioned, the two kids nodding eagerly. "I win when you two are unable to continue or forfeit."

"Deal!" Natsu laughed.

"Now about this bet." Gildarts smirked. "If I win, you two have to clean my house once a month, who knows when I'll be coming back and it has to sparkle everytime when I walk in the door." He explained making Mira and Natsu sweat drop at the man's child like grin that was spreading across his face.

"Seriously?" Mira questioned the man nodding his head. "Fine, we'll clean your house once a month if you win. Now for our bet... hmm..." She tilted her head to the side, when she came to this fight she wasn't expecting to make a bet so she couldn't think of anything.

"You have to take us on your next adventure!" Natsu shouted at him, Mira's eyes widening as she looked down at the pink haired teen next to her before a grin came to her face.

"Yeah! What cutie said!" Mira laughed looking back to Gildarts. The Crash Wizard glanced at Makarov from the corner of his eye only to see the short guild master shrug.

"Deal." He said looking back at the duo.

"WHAT!" The entire guild roared.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone was left speechless as Gildarts had agreed to take the two on one of his grand adventures that were usually years long. Either he was totally sure he could win this match or he didn't care for the safety of two young members of the guild, everyone figured it was the former, Gildarts was a loving guy and he'd never forgive himself if he got anyone from Fairy Tail hurt. Master Makarov didn't seem phased by it either so he must have been sure that Gildarts would win. Both Natsu and Mirajane readied themselves across from the strongest member of Fairy Tail, ready to give it their all, nobody doubted that they wouldn't.

"Alright, now that the stakes have been made!" Makarov called out raising his hand up. "Begin!" As soon as Makarov dropped his hand both Mirajane and Natsu dashed forward surprising everyone at the full frontal attack they were both going for. Mirajane grinned making Gildarts smirk as she jumped high into the air above the Crash Wizard the black magic circle above her made Gildart's eyes widen at the intense magic power that she was emitting above him. As Mira began to use her takeover magic Gildarts readied to defend against her first attack however, he had forgotten about Natsu.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Gildarts eyes shot wide open as Natsu jumped up to eye level, his stomach extended, almost in a comical fashion as it always did with one of his most known signature attacks, his hands cupped at his mouth leaning his head back the torrent of flames hit Gildarts at point blank range, Natsu being blown back from the force of the flames that exploded from his mouth, his training with Mira having increased the force of his magical abilities it was his strongest Fire Dragon's Roar to date, hitting the ground with his feet he grinned widely as he skidded across the earth, the both of them had been planning this formation for a while now. They had been training to fight Gildarts.

"Soul Extinction!" Mirajane called out from the side of the explosion that Natsu had caused, the black ball of demonic magic forming in her hands by gathering magic energy from the surrounding area. Grinning much like Natsu the globe fired as Mira pushed her hands out in front of her causing a large black-purple beam forward rocking the entire area.

The crowd stood wide eyed at the two's team work, Mira had originally been the decoy for Natsu but in all Natsu was the true decoy for Mira's stronger , they were going up against Gildarts Clive, strongest member of Fairy Tail. They'd have to do a lot more then this. As planned Mira leapt back as Natsu charged forward, his entire being being engulfed in flames, rearing back with his fist the pre-teen pulled all his strength and his magic into this one punch and gave it his all.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu called out sending his fist into the mass of smoke that covered the entire form of Gildarts. Natsu grinned as he felt his fist connect with Gildarts inside the smoke screen, the explosion of the attack clearing the smoke from the field making Natsu's eyes shoot wide open as he saw what he had hit, Gildarts open palm. The man didn't even seemed phased by the current attacks he had been hit with.

"Really Natsu?" Gildarts questioned, a serious look on his face. "Is that all Igneel had to teach you?" Natsu's eye's narrowed as he glared at the man, the tone of his voice almost made it as if he was insulting Igneel.

"Natsu fall back!" Mira shouted at the Dragon Slayer however Gildarts gripped the boy's hand so he couldn't get away.

"You've grown stronger Natsu." Gildarts told him. "But your flames aren't strong enough yet." Natsu tried to pull his fist out of Gildarts palm but it refused to budge from the large man's grasp. Natsu saw Mira over Gildarts shoulders, wings spread wide as she held a large boulder above her head. Where she had gotten the bolder from Natsu didn't know but he didn't figure that it was important.

"Natsu duck!" Mira called out to him making Gildarts look over his shoulder as Mira launched the boulder at him. Raising his hand up Gildarts stopped the bolder seemingly effortlessly with his bare hand before his crash magic smashed it into smithereens leaving Mira shocked before regaining her composure and diving down towards the man, Gildarts seeing the electricity surrounding her hands.

Natsu was still struggling to get out of his grip as Gildarts fought with Mira in hand to hand combat, making sure that none of her strikes hit. Mira went for a strike to Gildarts head only for the man to tilt his head to the side her fist flying past the lightning making his beard stand on it's ends as the lightning crackled next to his ear, Mira grinned as she smashed her knee into his jaw with incredible force sending his head back, the force of the blow making his hair fly back from the force she had hit him with before he smashed his forehead into her stomach sending her flying back.

"Mira!" Natsu called out before he was engulfed in flames.

"I thought you were outta magic power?" Gildarts questioned turning back to the blazing inferno that he was holding onto his eyes widened at the sight of Natsu, his eyes were glowing red as his entire body was engulfed in a flaming barrier. Gildarts hand started to burn making him cringe but didn't let go of the Dragon Slayer's hand before the pink haired boy roared sending a shock wave through the area, the crowd was in awe as they watched as Natsu released enormous amounts of Magic Power, none had seen Natsu go so far in a fight before.

Gildarts continued to cringe as his hand continued to burn before the flames around the pink haired boy started to waver and Natsu collapsed from magic exhaustion Gildarts crouched down to catch the falling Natsu who was bordering on unconsciousness. Looking up at Gildarts with a tired expression the man grinned at him and rose his hand up showing the severe burns on his hand.

"You did well Nats-!" A firm kick to Gildarts' ass sent him flying over Natsu's body and out of the circle he had made for the bet before landing on the dirt half way across the field, Mirajane stood there in her Satan Soul form hands on her hips with a victorious smirk as her tail thumped on the ground, the entire crowd stood there with there mouths wide open as they saw Gildarts face down in the dirt butt in the air, truly a comical sight.

"Nice decoy Natsu." Mira grinned down at him as she released her Satan Soul and returning to her original look as Natsu grinned up at her with a thumbs up before his eyes closed and he let out a tired breath.

"N-N-NO FRIGGGING WAY!" Erza was the first to break. "That was totally cheating! You cheated!" She shouted at Mira.

"Suck it Erza! Just face it! Natsu and me are stronger then you'll ever be, we even took down Gildarts." Mira told her with a smirk. "Bet you wish you could of held back on our little bet huh?" Erza growled before re-equipping a new sword and charging forward before Makarov reached out with his Titan magic to halt the Knight by grabbing her on the shoulder.

"Leave it be Erza." Makarov told her. "Mirajane is not in the condition to fight you now." Makarov told her and Erza looked back to Mira to see the state she was in, her stomach was a sickly black and purple from where Gildarts had head butted her and she was exhausted from the use of so much magic.

It may have not looked like much to the spectators but both Natsu and Mirajane had all but exhausted their magic pools in their attacks. Mira had continuously been using her magic up since transforming into her Satan Soul and using her Soul Extinction would of dropped it by half only to continuously use lightning magic in attacking Gildarts in hope that she could land a direct hit on him. In being so young, their pools of magic were limited. Mira collapsed down on her knees next to Natsu and grinned down at him, only one of Natsu's eyes open as he grinned back at her.

"We need more training." Mira told him making Natsu groan and roll over away from her. "Hey! Don't you roll over from me when I'm talking to you!" She shouted reaching out and shaking the Dragon Slayer before wincing and hunching over holding her stomach. "Ow." She whined. Lisanna and Happy ran forward to both Natsu's and Mira's aid. Lisanna helped support Mira as they stood up, Happy sitting on Natsu's chest with a big smile.

"You're awesome Natsu!" Happy laughed.

"Yeah little buddy." Natsu grinned up at him. "I'ma just rest for a bit." He said closing his eyes.

"Hey! Wake up." Gildarts snapped sitting down beside the Dragon Slayer who cracked an eye open and stared up at the man who was now sitting beside him. "You both did well." He said looking over at Mira who was watching them, Lisanna helping her to stand. "I'll be good to my word, next job I choose you two are coming with me. I'll give you a few days to recuperate and we're out of here." Natsu gave a big goofy grin as Mira smiled before Lisanna led her away.

"Try not to take too much of a dangerous job Gildarts, I want my children safe you hear." Makarov told him, Gildarts looked up and grinned.

"I'll keep em safe." Gildarts told him.

Days Later-

"It still hurts." Mira groaned hugging her now only slightly bruised stomach, at her feet was a simple back pack she had spent the last three days packing, unpacking then repacking. She had no idea what she was packing for. Gildarts had picked a job but had denied all questions to what the job was. So Mira was still a little frustrated, Natsu wasn't bothered by it, what Natsu was bothered about was that Gildarts wouldn't let Happy come along with them. He had argued even before he had been let out of the infirmary almost burning it down in the process. Standing beside Mira was Lisanna who was slightly upset that Mira and Natsu were leaving for an unknown amount of time.

"You'll be safe right Mira?" Lisanna questioned.

"Of course I will." Mira told her sister. "Anything bad happens I'm sure Gildarts will look after us." She reassured her younger sister with a smile.

"Are you sure you're ready for a big adventure like this?" Elfman asked walking over to them. "It's a big step Big Sis, for both you and Natsu."

"It'll be fun." Mira told them. "I know you'll both be worried about us but we'll both be fine. What's the worse that could happen? I'm a kick ass S-class Wizard along with Gildarts, Natsu's pretty strong himself so we're like an awesome team. Nothing is going to stop us." She smiled at them before patting Lisanna on the head. "I'll make sure to look after Natsu." Lisanna puffed her cheeks up as they tinted a light shade of red, for the most part she had moved on from her crush on Natsu but Mira still teased her about it from time to time, even though in the last couple of months since Mira won the bet with Erza her older sister had spent more time with the Dragon Slayer.

As the three continued to talk to one another, gossip still went through the guild about how Natsu and Mira had defeated Gildarts of all people. Gray and Erza were in depression over it, Erza because Mira was strong and she couldn't deny that any longer or deal with the fact that her rival was getting stronger while Gray couldn't believe that Natsu could top Gildarts at all, even with help and a handicap. So they were currently sitting at the same table heads down with clouds of depression floating over them.

The rest of the guild was currently chatting among one another, some slightly saddened that two members were getting to go on a once in a life term journey with Gildarts Clive, one of these people being Cana. She of all people wanted to go, but couldn't work up the courage to tell Gildarts the truth... not yet anyway. So she put a smile on her face and would wish the three good luck in her journey, promising herself that one day she would tell the old man. The guild was in a bustle before the guild door burst open and Natsu came flying from outside with a cry and crashing into several people, toppling them over along with the furniture they had been sitting at.

"Not even on the road yet and you're bothering me." Gildarts mumbled walking in after the young Dragon Slayer, Gildarts had his travel pack on his back and Natsu's in his hand, the Dragon Slayer was currently pulling himself out of the mass of people he had crashed into "The bet was for you and Mira, not Happy." The blue cat floated next to Gildarts with a down trodden expression on his face. "Sorry Happy."

"Aye..." The blue cat nodded before floating over to Lisanna with a sniffle, the young Strauss family member hugging the exceed to her chest.

"Alright! Brats line up!" Gildarts called out only for Mira and Natsu to stare at him with titled heads. "Just get over here!" He snapped at the two of them in a hushed whisper making the guild laugh in response as Natsu and Mira walked over to him. Gildarts chucked Natsu's travel pack at him, knocking the small pink haired Dragon Slayer off his feet making him cry out as he landed on his butt a few feet back only getting more laughs from the guild as he pulled himself up onto his feet once more.

"You did that on purpose!" Natsu shouted at him.

"Yeah and what if I did!" Gildarts shouted back at him, Natsu simply huffed and folded his arms over his chest making Gildarts laugh before he turned to Mira and her bag. "That's it?"

"I didn't know what the hell to pack since you didn't tell me!" Mira shouted at him making Gildarts sigh.

"We'll work it out on the road." He told her waving it off. "Say your goodbyes." He told them with a small smile. "Don't know when you'll be seeing the guild again." He explained to them to which they nodded. Natsu instantly ran over to Gray and punched him in the face causing a brawl between the two. Gildarts chuckled as Mira walked over to her siblings, the man turned to see Makarov walking up to him.

"Look after them Gildarts." Makarov told him. "They're apart of this guild and are my children, I entrust them to your care when they are with you." Gildarts grinned down at him.

"Don't worry Master, I'll have them back in one piece." Gildarts told him.

"Any idea how long you'll be gone for this time?" Makarov questioned seeing Natsu and Gray fighting before Erza stepped in reprimanding the two for doing so, then over to Mira who was being hugged by Lisanna and Elfman, both who were crying at the departure of their older sister.

"No idea." Gildarts told him. "You know how it is out there on the road." Makarov nodded in understanding.

"Just remember Fairy Tail is home to you all."

"Of course Master." Gildarts nodded as he saw Happy and Natsu saying a farewell to one another. Makarov gulped slightly as he saw Mira walk over to Erza, the two glaring heatedly at one another, he almost thought they were going to try and destroy the guild one last time before they set out on their adventure with Gildarts, that was all before Mira huffed folded her arms and looked away.

"Look after Lisanna and Elfman for me Tincan." Mira told her, the red head smirking.

"Do the same for Natsu." Erza told her, the two grinning at one another. "And I'll kick your ass when you get back, you cow!"

"Want to say that again you breast challenged, fire crotch!" The two head butted one another as they glared heatedly at one another before turning away from each other, grins on both of their faces as they walked their separate ways.

"How come they get to fight?" Natsu questioned, pouting.

"Cause they're tougher then us." Gray sighed before Gray punched Natsu in the face. "You may be able to beat Gildarts now, but I'll beat you when you get back, I'm gunna train a bunch."

"Yeah well I'ma gunna train a bunch too!" Natsu shouted at him, the two grinning at one another. Natsu folded his hands behind his head before walking over to his travel bag and pulled it onto his back. Happy flew over to him and gave him a another hug making Natsu grin at him. "Don't worry happy! I'll be back and be more awesome then I am now, then we'll go find Igneel!" He cheered a grin on his face, Happy sobbing but nodding regadless.

"Alright Natsu, Mira, let's go." Gildarts said hefting the bag on his back and turning on his heel before walking for the entrance to the guild door, Natsu gave Happy to Lisanna with a grin before walking after Gildarts, Mira walking with him, the two stopped at the guild's entrance and turned back with smiles before running off after Gildarts outside the guild.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a month since the three wizards had left Fairy Tail, and Mira was fed up with how Gildarts hadn't told them anything about the job he had chosen for them to do in their adventure, sure picking a job wasn't apart of the bet that they had made but since he had picked one they might as well get to do it along side the older Wizard. Natsu was just loving that they had been travelling for over a month and had yet to step foot on a mode of transportation, they had walked everywhere.

Apparently Gildarts was forbidden to go near a train or a train station after he caused a massive crash accidentally when he fell asleep one time, his magic going out of control in his sleep... it happened. The Fiore Army was on the lookout at every train station for him, apparently he had missed his court date... four years ago.

"Oi old Geezer!" Mira shouted making Gildarts look over his shoulder as they continued to walk.

"What do ya want?" He questioned, Natsu turning to look back at her with a questioning look on his face, no idea why she was so mad. In the three months that Natsu had been under Mira's wing he had seen her get angry at the drop of a hat and didn't understand why. He figured it was a girl thing since Erza practically did the same and he'd never seen any male do so.

"What are we doing out here in... in..." Mira looked around searching the surroundings. "The middle of god damn no where! Where the hell are we!?"

"We're between towns, we'll get to the next town... oh in another month or so." Mira's jaw dropped as both Natsu and Gildarts turned back to the front, no matter where the hell they were going it didn't take two months to go between towns on foot! The closest town to Magnolia was only a four hour walk and an hour train ride and they hadn't even stopped once or came clsoe to any town in the time that they had been travelling! Where the hell was Gildarts taking them!?

"Then tell me what Job we're doing." Mira called out running to catch up with the two ahead of her so she was walking beside Natsu.

"Oh, right! I did pick something like that up didn't I?" Gildarts questioned with a grin making Mira face fault, he'd totally forgotten that he'd picked up a job? No wonder he was away from the guild so much he just totally forgot what he was doing out here. Gildarts pulled his pack from his back and reached inside of it as they continued to walk along, pulling out a stack of paperwork he handed them to Mira.

"Pick one and we'll get right on it." Gildarts told her. Mira's eyes widened as she looked over the jobs in her hand, there must have been hundreds of requests. Why had he taken so much? Giving Gildarts a questioning look he laughed heartedly. "You guys wanted an adventure right? Adventuring costs money!" He continued to laugh, Mira had to grumble at that, even before they had left Magnolia, Gildarts had made her buy proper travelling supplies which had chewed through half of her savings she had brought with her, then he had the gall to spend the rest of it on lunch for him and Natsu! So currently the three were flat broke. How the strongest member of the guild was broke she didn't know, but he was.

"Yeah Mira pick a job!" Natsu grinned at her. "Then I'll pick one, then Gildarts will pick one then it'll be your turn again!" He continued to grin at her. Mira had to smile, Natsu was really enjoying their trip so far. Sure the Dragon Slayer missed everyone in the guild but he knew that he'd see them again one day. Nodding to the pink haired boy she looked through the requests as the trio continued to walk down the road, her eyebrows furrowed as she found a few she liked before looking at the locations on them. Some were all the way over the other side of the continent.

"Something wrong?" Gildarts questioned.

"How come these jobs are so far away?" Mira asked him. "Why'd they send the requests to Fairy Tail and not a nearby Wizard's guild?" Gildarts pursed his lips as he rubbed his chin.

"I guess because some Wizards guilds are unable to handle certain requests." He told them. "Fairy Tail is a large guild, one of the top guilds in all Fiore, through the land there are smaller jobs unable to take on the bigger requests. Some simply just not strong enough to deal with them or maybe they have certain restrictions placed on them by the Magic Council." He added. "In some parts of Fiore closer to Era, the Magic Council are pretty tough on guilds." Natsu gained a thoughtful look before grinning.

"Let's beat up the council!" Gildarts chopped Natsu on the head making him cry out in pain as he cradled the growing throbbing lump on top of his head.

"That's an idiotic idea, even for you Natsu." Gildarts sighed. "The council has some of the strongest Wizards in all of Fiore within it's ranks, you'd be more incline to beat up the King of Fiore then the members of the Magic Council." A glint came to Natsu's eyes making Gildarts sigh. "No, we're not going to beat up the King Natsu." Natsu simply pouted as he folded his arms.

"Here, this one." Mira suddenly said bringing Gildarts and Natsu's attention to the only female of the group to see her holding out a request sheet. Gildarts took it from her and looked it over before he paled somewhat as he read it through. "What, what's wrong?" Mira questioned seeing the look on Gildarts' face.

"Can you pick another one?" He questioned.

"What's wrong with that one?" Natsu questioned.

"It's not the request... it's the town, Albadros." Mira rose an eyebrow at him. "Fine, we'll do this one." He mumbled, not wanting to tell the two children that was in his company the reason he didn't want to go to that place. "Then we're heading on to the coast like planned." He told them. _"Just we'll get there two weeks earlier since we're not by passing that town."_ He added mentally.

"That's where you were taking us?" Mira questioned.

"Yes." Gildarts simply nodded as he trudged along, now a slight sag in his shoulders. Mira glanced to Natsu who shrugged and strode after Gildarts Mira following.

-Two Weeks Later- The town of Albadros

"It still took us ages." Mira sighed hunched over as she stood beside the grinning Natsu. "So that's why it was going to take a month to get to the coast, because Gildarts wanted to detour around so many towns." She growled as she glared at the nervously twitching man beside her and Natsu. Gildarts looked around cautiously, looking for every single escape route he could remember since last time he was here. Natsu was grinning already wanting to explore this new town that he'd never been to before, his mind was racing wanting to find any traces of Igneel in this new place but firstly, he needed to find something to eat. The three heard a squawk of a seagull in the air then he heard the most girlish scream erupt from the man next to them before they both watched Gildarts jump into a barrel. Mira and Natsu simply stared at the barrel before Gildarts' arm reached out and grabbed the lid and pulled it over the top.

"How about you kids do this one on your own, I'll wait here." Gildarts' told them, his voice echoing from within the barrel. "It's not that hard, pretty easily actually. So be done in a couple of hours yeah?" Mira and Natsu exchanged a quick glance with one another.

"He's not serious is he?" Mira questioned only getting Natsu to shrug. "Come on then, we've got to meet this... Carolina somewhere in town. Maybe we can get something to eat while we're here." She suggested making Natsu grin at her.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Mira's eyes widened as Natsu ran off down the street.

"Natsu!" Mira called chasing after the young Dragon Slayer. "Wait up!" Mira and Natsu were out of sight, missing the small hole appearing in the barrel before Gildarts' looked through it before the barrel's base cracked and Gildarts rose slightly, the barrel looking as if it just stood up and began to walk into town.

"Food does sound pretty good right now." He chuckled lightly to himself, his disguise was genius, nobody would suspect the great and mighty Gildarts of Fairy Tail would be hide- using a barrel for disguise! Heading into town Gildarts could hear the rumours floating around, he got pissed off at one point when someone decided to be lazy and sit on the barrel he was in, he almost broke his cover but the man continued on his way after a short while. As he was waiting for a few passers by to pass on he heard a conversation that made his eyes widened.

"You hear? That Carolina has been contacting Wizards Guilds again, two kids showed up just a little while ago saying that they were going to help her out." A man said in a hushed tone.

"Damn that woman, she should just leave things be." Another cursed under his breath. "She's brought hurt to even more of the families by giving them false hope. The mayor is thinking of making her leave town."

"Really?"

"The loss has made her obsessed, he's worried that she'll start causing trouble for everyone." Gildarts continued to remain quiet, he hadn't really taken a good look at the request other then where it was located. Standing up fully and stepping out of the barrel the man began to walk through the town looking for the two young wizards in his care, he had a bad feeling that the request wasn't as easy as he said it was going to be. Heading through town he could finally see that it wasn't the bustling town that he had visited once before, no the air was heavy and there wasn't much life anywhere. Stopping a couple of times to ask several people of either Natsu's or Mira's whereabouts he finally was given the directions to the job requesters house.

Gildarts was practically frozen as he stood in front of the small house, he remembered it well. Swallowing nervously he walked up to the door and knocked before waiting. When the doors open he frowned as a woman opened the door, he didn't recognise her as the one who use to live here, she had dark brown hair with dark rings around her dark eyes.

"Yes?" She questioned.

"I'm looking for two young Wizards, Natsu and Mira. Are they here?" He asked.

"Yes, you must be Gildarts." Gildarts nodded before the door was slammed in his face making him take a step back in surprise before the door opened once more. "I apologise." The woman said bowing her head. "I promised my sister that if you ever turned back up here that I'd do that to you, please come in."

"So you are Amelia's younger sister?" Gildarts questioned walking into the small house, he saw Natsu and Mira casting him a curious glance.

"Yes." Carolina told him as she gestured for him to take a seat, he remained standing but gestured for her to continue. "These two young Wizards told me that you were here with them." Carolina told him.

"Tell us about this job." Gildarts told her. "I heard some rumours from around town, but it'd be better to know the information from you directly. What is it you need us to do?" Carolina placed her hands in her lap and began to fidget with her fingers.

"Several months ago people from town began to go missing." Carolina told them. "Everyone in town organised search parties but found nothing, no traces of them anywhere. Then the kidnappings became current, they happen every fortnight around the same day. At first it was hard to tell since this is such a large town and not everyone is able to be kept track of. It's when the children started to go missing did we try to get the authorities involved. The Mayor pleaded with the Fiore Army branch in this region to keep a platoon stationed in town but they couldn't spare the troops." Carolina told him. "Two months ago Amelia was taken." Gildarts eyes shot wide open in shock as he stared at the woman.

"I've begged and pleaded with nearby Wizard guilds, passing by patrols, the mayor and even the good people of this town, but the Wizards that came were lost, the patrols gave a quick search and found nothing, the Mayor refuses to acknowledge my asking too caught up in his own grievance of his son going missing, and the people just think I'm a nuisance. I remembered Amelia telling me stories of you Gildarts and the guild you were from, so I sent the request to Fairy Tail, and here you are answering my call." She smiled as tears ran down her cheeks. "Please, help me save my sister and everyone else who has been taken from their families."

"We'll do it!" Both Mira and Natsu stated, Gildarts giving a quick nod in approval smiling slightly at how much Natsu and Mira wanted to help.

"We're going to need some information from you first Carolina, is that alright?" Gildarts questioned.

"Yes anything."

-Several Hours Later-

Natsu sat on the balcony, his legs through the railings and dangling off the side as he stared out over the town to the ocean that spread far across the horizon. His mind wasn't on the awesome adventure he was having with Gildarts and Mira or even the job that they had taken about the missing people from the very town he was in. No his thoughts were much further away on a subject that was always on his mind, Igneel. His scarf was wrapped firmly around his neck, in the past year that he had been in Fairy Tail the scent of Igneel had started to fade from the only thing he had left from his foster father.

"Hey." Mira called out to him, making him glance over his shoulder to see her standing there in the doorway to their hotel room. "You should get some sleep, we've got a big day tomorrow."

"I know." Natsu smiled back at her before he couldn't hold in a yawn and tried to muffle it causing Mira giggle at him making Natsu pout back at her.

"Come on, you haven't slept in a proper bed in over a month and a half, I'm looking very forward to it." She told him as he pulled himself out of the railing before dusting himself off as he stood up. "You missing everyone at Fairy Tail?" She questioned as they walked back into their shared room.

"Yeah... I guess I am." Natsu smiled. "Even that pervert Gray." Natsu added with a twitch of his eye making Mira laugh.

"Haha, yeah I gotta say I'm missing Red a little." Mira told him. "But Lisanna and Elfman will be alright, I asked Erza to look after them both for me while we're gone." Natsu nodded as he sat on the bed across from Mira's own, Gildarts opting to get a separate room from the so called, rowdy children as he liked to call them.

"Hey, when do you think we'll be back at Fairy Tail?" Natsu questioned as he pulled his blanket back and climbed underneath them.

"Hard to say Natsu, to be honest our adventure is just beginning with Gildarts." Mira said as she dimmed the lacrima in between their two beds and began to climb beneath the sheets of her own bed. "It could be a couple of months, a year, two years. Gildarts never really has a time schedule Natsu and with all the jobs he's taken for us to do while we're out here I don't doubt that we'll be gone from the guild for over a year." Mira explained propping her head up on her hand to see Natsu pull his scarf up around his face.

"What do you think everyone will be like when we get back?" He questioned.

"Erza will be fat." Natsu laughed making Mira smile at him as she turned and laid on her back, folding her arms behind her head. "They'll all be stronger and older. But they'll be the same people." Mira told him. "That just means we're going to have to get stronger too." Mira grinned tilting her head to see Natsu grinning beneath his scarf.

"Maybe Gildarts can train us." Natsu said, his eyes growing heavy.

"You know what Natsu, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea." Mira smiled as she closed her eyes, the familiar snores of the Dragon Slayer lulled her to sleep, she had become accustomed to the snores of the boy in recent months, ever since the two had begun to spend more time with one another.

-Forest Surrounding Magnolia-

"Get up!"

"But Erza." Gray panted, clouds of dust rising every time his breath hit the dirt. "It's past midnight." He groaned into the ground, Lisanna and Elfman on either side of him. Elfman was covered in bruises, dirt, sweat and was boarder lining on unconsciousness. Lisanna was asleep, taking the coolness of the dirt to lull her aching muscles. In the past month and a half this was how things had been, Erza would train the three of them like a Fiore Army drill Sargent. It was not pleasant for any of the three.

"Natsu and Mira will come crying back any day now saying that the life with Gildarts is too much! I'll be damned if we're weaker then them still!" Gray groaned as he turned his head in the dirt just wanting to go to sleep. Sure he had asked Erza to help him out with his training but this was just ridiculous, he didn't even know why Lisanna and Elfman were here! "Or are you going to let Natsu beat you?" Erza questioned an amused grin coming to her face, Gray grunted as he attempted to push himself up from the dirt before collapsing with a thud. Erza hung her head as she let out a sigh, with the three now unconsciousness she released her sword and it embedded in the ground as she collapsed onto her knees, the three had really been pushing her. Her taunting of them to get back up was just a bluff, she wouldn't of been able to go on like she had been.

Laying down in the dirt next to the three she turned over to look up out at the stairs high above the trees that were like lights in their own little way. Smiling she closed her eyes knowing that pushing herself and the others like this was making them stronger. She knew for a fact that Natsu and Mira would come back stronger then ever, they were travelling with Fairy Tail's strongest member after all. If they didn't pick something up from him, the adventure of a life time would have been worthless.

Letting out a small breath she let sleep succumb her, knowing that Natsu and Mira were getting stronger only made her strive to become stronger herself. It was going to be a long time before she saw the two again, it saddened her knowing that but knowing that they were doing what they wanted and gaining stronger made it all worth it. When they returned she doubted that Fairy Tail would remain the same.


End file.
